


Night of the Infants

by dontcryMasha



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-05-03 17:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5299967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontcryMasha/pseuds/dontcryMasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One night, the royal family of Hyrule had their baby girl stolen from the castle. That same night, an infant boy appeared on the doorstep of an unsuspecting couple in Kakariko village. Link always knew what had happened, but when he finally turned seventeen, he could no longer deny that it was merely a coincidence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Night of the Infants

 

Link awoke to the smell of bread. It wasn’t just regular morning bread, either; this was a cake. As he roused from his slumber, he wondered why anybody in Kakariko village would bake a cake until he remembered what day it was. He gave a sigh, dressed, and went into the kitchen where he found an elderly lady churning butter.

“Morning, Nan,” he said.

“Good morning, Link,” the old woman replied, smiling with her thin eyes. “Did you sleep well?”

“I can’t complain.” Link looked around the kitchen briefly. “Who’s making cake?”

“Uda, I believe.” Nan stopped churning and looked at Link kindly. “You _do_ remember what day it is, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course I do. It’s the anniversary of when I came to Kakariko village.”

“And not just any anniversary,” Nan added, “But your 17th! And that means you are now—“

Link kicked at the ground. He didn’t look happy about that. “17,” he finished.

Nan decided to stand up now. She hobbled over to Link and touched his arm with her long fingers. “Smile, dear. This is the biggest of all these celebrations. And I have something special to give you for it.”

“Oh?”

“Mm.”

Nan smiled once more before turning and going to her room. Link waited in the kitchen. He glanced at the wooden table there and noticed that Nan had been busy for a while with all sorts of bowls and spoons, spices, meats and cheeses.

“You remember the story of how you came here, yes?” Nan asked from her room. Link fumbled around with objects on the table nonchalantly as she spoke. “How you showed up on our door as just a _tiny_ little baby?”

“Yes.”

“My husband was still alive then.” Nan finally returned. She held something behind her back with both hands. “He died when you were 2 years old, but before he did so, he left this to me and made me promise to give it to you when you turned 17. So, here you go.”

She revealed the gift as a sword. Link’s eyes widened. He went over to her and gently took it from her. The scabbard was plain but it looked well-made.

“Now, this will be nicer than the swords you’ve used with the boys at the training hall, yes?”

“Wow, yeah, definitely.”

Link marveled at the weapon. He wasn’t sure what to do with it besides stare, lightly running his fingers over parts of it to make sure it was really happening. And feelings of hesitance about the day were quickly melting off of him.

“Now that you’re 17, you can leave the village without an escort. It’s only fitting that you have a proper weapon to defend yourself.”

“Is it that dangerous?”

“It would depend on where you go.”

Link hesitated for a moment. “Oh,” he said at last, his voice short. A few times he had left Kakariko with an escort. They went up the mountain to meet with a few Gorons. Another time, they went into Hyrule field looking for greens. Now that he could go anywhere he wanted, the sky was the limit. Most people wouldn’t wander too far since there were monsters everywhere, and whatever a person might need they could usually get when travelling merchants came through. Kakariko was a big, popular town so they frequently had such visitors.

“Anyway, thanks, Nan.” Link gave his guardian a big hug after he snapped out of his wandering thoughts. She chuckled.

“No need to thank me, it was all my husband. Perhaps you could pay proper respect to him before the party?”

“Yeah,” Link said, nodding confidently. He tried to strap the sword onto his back. “Help me do this. I bet Dyer and Tolo will flip out when they see it!”

Nan happily complied until Link was suited up. He grasped at the handle over his shoulder and gave it a tug. His guardian smiled.

“Now you look like a true warrior.”

“Warrior?” Link laughed. “I don’t know about warrior. It’s kind of harsh for me. A warrior is someone who lives in the woods and slays monsters.”

“Very well,” said Nan. “Then let us say that today, you are truly a man.”

Link blushed and tried to shake the word away. Warrior wasn’t sounding so bad now. “Erm, whatever you want to call me, I think I’ll go down to Paw’s grave. Do you wanna come with?”

Nan took a deep breath. Her heavily creased eyes seem to show signs of reminiscence. “That’s all right,” she said slowly. “I have preparations to continue, and this sword is a connection between you and him, not me.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.”

Link waved goodbye to his caretaker before he left, being sure to open and close the door with great caution. A quick survey of the area showed that everyone was busy in the middle of the village, where a big tent had been set up. Villagers were bustling about here and there, carrying big vats of steaming food and getting dishware ready. Link winced. If he was careful, he could slip behind the buildings and go off towards the graveyard. It wasn’t the best way to adjust to the new weight of his sword, but he was able to do it anyway. Luckily, _everyone_ was getting the celebration set up.

The graveyard was silent. The early morning sun had not even reached over the forest ridge that surrounded the space. Link took a deep breath and stepped through, passed the first few rows of graves and to the back. There in the far left corner was Paw’s headstone. Nan regularly put flowers and small food items down, as well as the occasional stick of incense. This made a large pile of offerings that slowly decayed in time. Link pulled the sword out of its sheathe and knelt down, offering it in both hands.

“Thanks, Paw,” he muttered, bowing his head. “This is important to me. I wish I could thank you in person.”

He let a few silent moments pass before opening his eyes and putting the sword away. His gaze lingered on the words carved into the stone. Above them was a symbol made of three triangles touching at the corners. The Triforce, he had been told, was a sacred icon for Hyrule. He knew nothing more of it than that.

No matter how much he convinced himself he could, the party would eventually have to pass. Link sighed loudly to himself and returned to the middle of the village, holding his breath for the explosion of greetings that was certain to come as soon a she arrived. Sure enough, the entire crowd of villagers swarmed him.

“Happy anniversary, Link!” they shouted. Link forced a grin and waved, trying to be polite. He was immediately assailed by gifts and food.

“We made this for you!”

“Try a bite of this!”

“Haah, wow, this is—this is really great, everyone,” Link stammered. He walked backwards and away from the house, trying to escape the daunting crowd, but they pressed forward.

“Is that a sword, Link?” A little girl asked, pointing to the hilt that was showing over his shoulder. “Is that a _sword_ you have?”

“Uh, yeah! A present from Nan.”

“Woah-hoh!” A particularly familiar and piercing voice broke out from the crowd, soon followed by the appearance of an oddly-tall young man, gangly and covered in pimples. It was one of Link’s best friends, Dyer. “That’s so cool!” he exclaimed, turning Link around to check out the sword.

“Yeah, I thought so, too,” said Link.

He stood there and accepted the villages gawking, still forcing food onto him. Soon, his arms were filled with presents and goodies. Each and every one of them meant a lot to Link, but it was difficult for him to take in. They knew that, too. They knew his social tendencies well, so when he suddenly disappeared, nobody wondered. Instead, the festivities continued without him.

But Link was close by as usual, sitting high above the village on the watch tower. It was barely big enough for two people to sit, but Link had a little stool that he liked to keep up there. It was a safe place away from the chatter of Kakariko’s finest.

He looked down at the tent, where people were laughing and singing, eating until they could do so no longer. The day had barely started at yet they would all be passed out soon in food comas. Link rolled his eyes.

Soon, the watchtower began to shake from someone else climbing up. Link froze for a moment, but he relaxed when he heard Dyer’s voice ask, “How did I guess?”

Link looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Because I’ve done this since I was a kid?”

“Oh, yeah. Right.” Dyer leaned his back against the railing casually and faced Link, his knobby legs bending as his weight went against the structure. “Did you even try the cake?”

“Not yet. I will.”

Link’s smile soon faded as his eyes scanned the horizon. Kakariko village was surrounded by mountains, making it difficult to see the rest of Hyrule from the ground, but up in the watchtower you could get a good glimpse of that part of the Light World. Death Mountain to northeast and the spires of Hyrule castle to the west. Link put his chin in his palm and closed his eyes.

“What’s up with you?” asked Dyer. “I mean, I know you aren’t one for your anniversary party, but I’ve never seen you _this_ quiet.”

Link took a moment to collect his thoughts before he answered.

“The older I get, the worse I feel about it.”

“About what?” Dyer asked, his young man voice cracking slightly.

“My anniversary.”

Dyer frowned. “But _why_ , man? Aren’t you glad you showed up here? Come on, of all the places for a baby to appear, the doorstep of ol’ Nan is pretty lucky!”

“I know that,” said Link, giving a stiff nod. “I’m not upset because of what happened to me. I just can’t be all that celebratory when I think about what happened on that same day 17 years ago.”

Dyer rolled his shoulders and made his creaky voice softer as best as he could. “ _Oh_.” His eyes followed Link’s, who had gone back to the top of Hyrule castle.

“Don’t you think it’s weird?” asked Link, a particularly determined look coming to his face now. “The same day that the royal family of Hyrule have their infant princess kidnapped, _myself_ as a baby shows up here mysteriously?”

“Woah, wait,” Dyer said, choking on his own words. “Bro, you aren’t—you don’t—Do you think _you’re_ the princess?”

“What!”

Link couldn’t help but laugh. All of his concentration broke and he snickered at his friend. Dyer didn’t realize what was so funny.

“That’s what you’re trying to say, right?” Dyer asked, confusedly.

“No, not at all,” said Link. “I just think it’s strange that two babies were moved that night. And, well, this must be a sad day in the courts of Hyrule. I don’t think it’s right to celebrate my life here.”

Dyer rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t matter, man. And either way, you can just go for yourself and find out! I still got two years until I can leave without a guardian. Plus you have that sweet new sword! You’re good to go, Link. Maybe you can find one of those fish people, too.”

Link cleared his throat. “What?” he asked. “Fish people?”

“Yeah, you never heard? Apparently there are some secret fish people living out there. They have a princess, too, and she didn’t get kidnapped 17 years ago. I bet she’s a babe.”

“Maybe, if you’re into that.”

Link suddenly imaged a large salmon with a crown on its head. He saw Dyer put his arm around it and he had to shake the image away with a mild shudder.

“So?” Dyer asked after a few moments of Link scowling to himself.

“So what?”

“Are you gonna go?”

“Probably. Why not?”


End file.
